Sam Talbot on Hosting a Stress-Free Holiday Party

Planning a holiday party can be stressful, so we turned to chef Sam Talbot, a fan favorite from Bravo's "Top Chef", to share his best entertaining tips. Discover how he plans the menu, what hors d'oeuvres are great served at room temperature and his ingenious trick to maximize fridge space.

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There are many factors that can stress out a party host. For example, those living in small spaces may have limited kitchen space or only have one stove. "I like to keep things moving," says Sam. "It’s not like you have a huge prep kitchen with multiple things going. Right when that first influx of guests come over, I like to keep just a lot of room temperature hors d'oeuvres flowing. [That way people aren't] waiting for me to heat up 16 dishes and put them out."

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Sam suggests putting out vegetables like "beautifully roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts on the stalk," which "can sit out for five to six hours at room temperature and be just as good as when you put them."

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Sam uses a variety of serving vessels instead of just regular plates for beautiful presentation. "I love serving some roasted vegetables on a nice big block of Himalayan salt block or some vintage thrift shop find [like] old trays that your grandmother’s grandmother might have had years ago," he says.

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Sam notes planning dishes can be tricky since "there are so many people now with food allergies, whether it’s a nut allergy, diabetes, celiac or gluten-free." Sam accommodates all his guests with a variety of dishes and with ingredient substitutions when needed.

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"Where I would have used soy sauce or I would have used bread crumbs or I would have used heavy cream, that’s the moment in time where I search for the alternative so that everybody can enjoy, because I don’t want one of my gluten-free guests not to be able to eat the roasted whatever because it [has] soy sauce," says Sam.

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"I’m a chef, and ultimately I’m looking to please," admits Sam. "I just try to take all these things into consideration." His own experience growing up with diabetes since a young age helps him understand what it's like to have a food allergy or other dietary restriction.

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For those living in small spaces, fridge space is a valuable commodity. Sam stresses the importance of planning ahead. Keep in mind the approach of important dates, so that a week or so before "you're not going to the grocery store anymore, and if you are, it's only for the things that you need." Your lean existence will reward you with plenty of space on the days you need it most.

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If you know your neighbors well enough, Sam suggests trading fridge space. "Maybe your neighbor is not throwing a holiday party, and they’re coming over to yours. Ask if you can use some of their fridge space for the day.

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Here's an ingenious tip from Sam on how to efficiently store prepped ingredients. Garlic, shallots, carrots, celery, onions and "anything that I can chop and nicely organize, [I] put in my [gallon-sized] storage bags and stack them."

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"A lot of people say they don’t have room, [but] just take everything out, organize and then start from scratch. It’s really impossible to just open your refrigerator door that you’ve been living out of forever, and start cooking Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner and expect to have room," Sam tells us.

As for the number of types of hors d'oeuvres to make, Sam takes the the dietary restrictions of his guests into consideration. "You don’t know if someone is a vegan or if someone is a pescetarian or if someone doesn’t eat meat, and I like to have a pretty good spread. I like to keep people excited [with] an offering for everybody," he says.

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Planning a holiday party can be stressful, so we turned to chef Sam Talbot, a fan favorite from Bravo's Top Chef, to share his best entertaining tips. Discover how he plans the menu, what hors d'oeuvres are great served at room temperature and his ingenious trick to maximize fridge space.

Check out the slideshow above to discover Sam Talbot's best tips for a stress-free holiday party.